


Paintbrushes and Rugby

by slightlytookish



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 10:24:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loras never meant to join the art club, but then he discovered Renly and suddenly volunteering to paint about a million bricks on a fake castle seemed like an excellent idea. (High School AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paintbrushes and Rugby

Loras hadn't dreaded going to Kings, precisely - both of his brothers had gone there and were happy enough, and he supposed that he had to go to school somewhere, after all - but by the end of his first day he decided that he loved it there already. 

His room was all right, even if it was much smaller than what he was used to at home, and the lectures had seemed a little dull so far but of course, he'd never been wildly enthusiastic about the scholarly side of school. What really mattered was that he'd made all the teams he cared to join and, even better, it had taken him hardly any time at all to discover Renly.

It was the laugh that caught his attention first. It sounded so happy, so clearly not belonging to someone that was practically falling asleep in his history book like Loras was, that he had to look up and see where it was coming from.

There was a group of boys clustered around some mouldy-looking tapestry hanging in the corner of the library. They looked artsy, Loras thought, in their paint-splattered jeans, and they appeared to be having an animated discussion about something to do with colours and composition. The one that had laughed - Loras knew it was him because he was still grinning and seemed to be the only one that wasn't taking the argument at all seriously - was so bright and beautiful that Loras couldn't take his eyes off him. 

He also had the most magnificent arse that Loras had ever seen.

"Hey," he said, not bothering to look away as he jabbed the boy beside him with his elbow. He thought that his name was Lancel but he wasn't entirely sure; Loras had only sat with him because he'd recognised him from fencing practice earlier and supposed that he probably ought to get to know his fellow teammates sooner rather than later. "Who's that?"

Lancel, who had also been dozing into his homework, jerked awake and followed Loras' gaze to the group by the tapestry. "Which one?"

 _The incredibly gorgeous one, you idiot_ , Loras wanted to say, but for once he held his tongue. "The one that keeps laughing at everything."

"Oh, that's Renly Baratheon," Lancel said. "You've probably heard of his brother. He was a bit of legend here."

Loras nodded. Robert had apparently excelled in every sport Kings had to offer, leaving a trail of trophies and plaques and medals strewn about the school to inspire and intimidate future generations of students. "So what does Renly do?" 

"Renly?" Lancel frowned. "Nothing. You'd have better luck finding him in the art studio than on the pitch. He's not very athletic, I'm afraid."

By now the librarian had come over to shush Renly and his friends and send them on their way. A strange feeling of longing settled in the pit of Loras' stomach as he watched them go, and he couldn't help leaning out of his chair, letting it wobble on two legs so that he could keep his eyes on Renly until the last possible moment. 

He also couldn't help it when he overbalanced and toppled to the floor, chair and all, with a booming clatter that echoed through the now-silent library.

The noise caught Renly's attention all the way across the room, and he turned back in the doorway and met Loras' gaze, looking as if he wanted to laugh again. Loras quickly scrambled to his feet, embarrassed, but by then Renly had already gone, leaving him to deal with the librarian's unamused glare and Lancel's confusion alone.

Loras didn't look at anyone as he righted his chair. Small sacrifices to one's dignity had to be made sometimes, he told himself. Especially when there was Renly Baratheon's arse to ogle. 

*

After a brief and somewhat creepy conversation with one of the guys living on his floor (how did Varys know so much about everyone, anyway?) Loras learned quite a bit about Renly. He was one year ahead of Loras, and was a member of all the artistic and bookish clubs that Loras usually avoided - things like the literary journal and the student newspaper and the law society. But the art club was apparently his favourite, and where he spent the most of his time, which was why Loras found himself loitering outside the studio the following afternoon. 

He didn't have to wait very long before Renly arrived, already changed out of his uniform and into the paint-splattered jeans again. He stopped short when he noticed Loras standing just outside the door and tilted his head to the side as if to study him.

"I remember you," he said at last. "The clumsy one from the library."

Loras' mouth fell open in surprise. This was not how their first proper meeting was supposed to go. "I'm not clumsy!" he said, indignant.

"So you really were just checking out my arse? I wasn't sure."

" _What_?" 

Renly laughed. "I didn't say that I minded." 

Loras sputtered. 

Finally Renly seemed to take pity on him. "I'm only joking," he said kindly, but something in his expression told Loras that he was just saying that to make him feel better, which made the whole situation even worse somehow. "Did you want to come in?" He reached around Loras and pushed open the door to the studio, waiting patiently for Loras to shuffle inside before he followed.

The studio was large and smelled strongly of paint. None of the boys Loras had seen in the library were there yet, and Renly's footsteps echoed loudly as he walked around the room opening the shades to let in more light. Renly looked golden in the sunlight, so brilliant and lovely that Loras had to tear his eyes away and pretend to study some of the artwork on display, just so he wouldn't say or do anything foolish.

"So what do you do?" Renly asked, pulling Loras out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"Paint? Sculpt? Draw?" Renly perched on one of the tables and looked at Loras expectantly. "We don't have many rules in the art club so you can pretty much do anything you like."

Loras supposed that saying, _Well, Renly, I'd really like to do YOU, actually_ probably wasn't the best idea, so he decided to be honest. Mostly. "I'm not artistic at all, really. I don't know the first thing about any of it. But I've heard that you're working on some of the sets for the school play, and that you needed help, so." He trailed off and shrugged like it didn't matter, like he hadn't spent most of the previous evening preparing that terrible little speech. 

But Renly seemed pleased by it, if his smile was any indication. "What's your name?"

"Loras Tyrell."

"I remember your brother Garlan. He was more of an athlete than an artist, wasn't he?"

"Well. So am I." 

"Rugby as well?"

Loras nodded. "And football and fencing. You should come and watch me some time."

"Are you any good?"

"I wouldn't have invited you if I wasn't."

Renly grinned. "And so modest too, I see."

Loras felt a blush coming on but valiantly fought it back. "I've just admitted to being a poor artist. I wanted you to know that I can do something well. Besides," he said, lifting his chin and looking at Renly steadily. "I'm not in the habit of lying to my friends."

He waited for Renly to laugh, or to say that they weren't friends yet and might never be, but neither happened. Instead, Renly's gaze went soft and he slid off the table, coming to stand in front of Loras. 

"I started painting that yesterday," he said, nodding towards an enormous wooden structure propped against the wall. It looked like the facade of a castle, complete with windows and pointy turrets, and would probably take ages to finish. Just thinking about having all that time to get to know Renly made Loras' heart do a little flip. "I could use a bit of help, if you'd care to join me."

Loras decided to take the dignified route and not do a victory dance. "Okay," he said, going for cool and unconcerned but suspecting that he still sounded far too enthusiastic for someone who had just volunteered to paint about a million bricks on a fake castle. Renly must have thought so too, if his raised eyebrows were anything to go by, and Loras had to turn his face away as he shrugged off his jacket, just to hide his smile.

* 

Painting the castle was taking just as long as Loras had expected (he'd be quite happy never to look at grey paint again when it was all finished) and yet he found himself enjoying his time in the studio. His own schedule was busy with practices to attend and far too many essays to write for his liking, but Renly often worked late in the studio, and on most evenings Loras would dash there straight from the pitch, sometimes still in his sweaty shirt and leaving muddy footprints on the stairs, and would spend an hour or two with him, helping to mix paints and do whatever was needed to assist Renly, long after the other members of the art club had left for the day.

That he looked forward to those hours more than anything else he did all week came as somewhat of a surprise to Loras. But he and Renly didn't have any lessons together, and so the studio was where they had some of their best conversations, where they would argue and agree and where Loras once nearly laughed himself sick listening to Renly's uncanny impression of Headmaster Pycelle. It was there that they sometimes worked in silence, growing so comfortable with each other that they didn't always need to crowd the air with their voices, and where Loras got to know Renly as more than just the boy with the quick wit and quicker laughter.

But Renly had a habit of catching Loras off guard, too. Once late in the afternoon, when the sun was slanting long bright shadows across the floor and they were rooting through the paints in the supply cupboard, Renly, who never talked about girls (a fact that Loras clung to perhaps a little too hopefully) out of nowhere said, "I hear you have a very beautiful sister."

Loras wrinkled his nose. He dearly loved Margaery but he didn't want to talk about her now. Or ever, at least not with Renly. "I suppose she is," he said, shrugging carelessly. "People say that we look alike."

Renly laughed. "Are you calling yourself pretty?"

"No!"

"It sounds like you are," Renly said, still grinning mercilessly. 

By now Loras' cheeks were so hot that he was certain he must have gone bright red. He grabbed a random tube of paint from one of the shelves and pretended to study it, ducking his face so that Renly wouldn't see him blushing. "That's not what I meant at all."

"Hm," Renly said. He sounded unconvinced, which only made Loras feel even more ridiculous. "Do you steal her hairbands, then?"

Loras' head snapped up. "What?"

"I've noticed you wearing them for rugby."

"Those aren't - wait, hang on. You've seen me play?"

Renly shrugged. "Once or twice." He bit his lip, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I've seen all of your matches, actually." 

"All of them?" Loras couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And you didn't think to tell me? I never saw you there!"

"I sort of watched from the back." He caught Loras' eye and smiled sheepishly. "I have to admit that I'm not too fond of rugby - my brothers used to force me to play when I was younger, and I think that soured me for life. But I wanted to see if you were any good after all your bragging, so I figured I'd watch without letting on that I was there." 

The fact that Renly had willingly watched him playing a sport - more than once - that he personally despised was almost enough for Loras to forgive him for keeping it a secret in the first place. Almost. "Well? What did you think?"

Renly scrunched his face as if he were giving it some serious thought. "The hairband does some amazing work. I didn't think anything could tame your hair but somehow it managed. It's really very impressive."

By now Loras was fighting a losing battle against his smile. "Any other observations?"

"You're not terrible, I suppose," he replied, looking far too amused by his teasing. "Although I should probably go and see another match or two, just to be certain. But only if you promise not to show off too much, now that you know I'm watching."

"Next time," Loras said, not even trying to hide his grin anymore. "I want to see you right at the front. I'll be looking for you, so you'd better make sure you're there."

"Let me guess, I should probably make a giant hand-painted banner so that I'll stand out?"

"Who's showing off now? Just bring yourself."

"Are you sure? I could draw a little picture of you and everything. I'd even add glitter. Or would you prefer feathers?"

"No," Loras said, laughing. "Just you, all right? I don't want anything else." 

Renly looked at him sharply, but Loras turned away and busied himself with the paints again. He could feel Renly's eyes on him but he didn't know what else to say. He was worried that he might have said too much already. 

"I think rugby would be better if there was glitter," Renly said at last, and just like that the moment passed and they were back to their usual selves. Loras knew that he wouldn't have to answer any potentially awkward questions about what he'd meant, at least not right now, and for some strange reason instead of feeling relief he felt something like regret.

It took an effort but he still managed a grin as he pushed passed Renly and into the studio. "Come on," he said. "Don't we have about a billion more bricks to paint today?" 

*

Renly didn't make him a banner, but Loras managed to spot him in the crowd straight away. He was difficult to miss, sitting right at the front and wearing a pair of the ridiculous foam antlers the school loved to distribute to the crowd before every match.

During the warm-up Loras went to the edge of the pitch for a better look. The antlers were the same hideous bright yellow as everyone else's, but Renly had followed through on his threat of glitter and dusted them in gold. The effect should have made the antlers look even more absurd than they already were, but for some strange reason they suited Renly. It probably shouldn't have surprised Loras to know that Renly apparently carried gold glitter in his pockets, but the thought still gave him a good laugh, to which Renly responded merely by narrowing his eyes and mouthing one word - "hairband" - which promptly shut Loras up. 

Once the match started he didn't even try to show off for Renly, and it still shaped up to be one of Loras' best performances ever. His efforts helped ensure that Kings was ahead right from the start, and they were well on their way to a decisive victory when midway through the second half Gregor Clegane barrelled into him out of nowhere, knocking him clear off his feet and sending him into darkness. 

When Loras woke he was lying on the field with the sun shining right in his eyes. He squinted up at the concerned knot of people surrounding him - his teammates, a referee and a couple of teachers, and, looming right over him, a pair of glittery antlers. 

Loras didn't know if he wanted to laugh or to cry. His head was aching and he was sore all over, but the pain was nothing compared to the humiliation he felt. He'd never been injured during a match before - at least, he'd never had anything worse than some cuts and bruises - and for something like this to happen in front of Renly of all people was really quite mortifying.

"Well," he said, looking up at him. "This is very embarrassing."

Renly crouched beside him. The antlers bobbed at the motion, shaking a healthy dusting of glitter onto Loras' face. Yes. He definitely wanted to cry.

"How do you feel?" Renly reached out a hand as if he wanted to touch Loras' hair or face but he drew back at the last moment, letting his hand fall to the ground instead. There was a little furrow between his eyebrows and he was looking at Loras as if he half-expected him to fall unconscious again. Renly looked worried, Loras realised, and the thought made his heart pound faster in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with rugby.

"Like an elephant sat on me," he said, shifting his arms and legs a little. At least nothing seemed to be broken. "Or Gregor Clegane. One or the other."

Renly smiled, just a bit. "He's fighting his own brother right now. I think they're both going to be thrown out." 

Loras could hear the sounds of a brawl happening just a short distance away and was a little sorry that he was missing all the fun. He sat up to see what was happening, only to feel as if the world had tilted alarmingly. It made his head spin and sent an intense wave of nausea through his stomach, and something of his discomfort must have shown on his face because this time Renly did reach out for him, slinging an arm around his shoulders as the anxious expression returned to his face. Loras could hear someone in his little group of onlookers saying something about concussions but he ignored it.

"I'm fine," he insisted, and to prove his point he forced himself to his feet, though he didn't shake off Renly's supporting arm just yet. He still felt a little nauseous and dizzy, but it was a matter of pride. He was going to walk off the pitch on his own; he had to, even if everything still seemed a bit fuzzy around the edges. 

"There's an ambulance on the way," Renly said quietly. "You probably shouldn't move until it arrives." 

"No," Loras said, gritting his teeth. It was bad enough that he'd been knocked out. He wasn't about to let himself be carried off the pitch like some kind of helpless child.

"I thought you'd say that," Renly said, sighing a little, though when Loras glanced at him he thought that Renly looked rather fond, and maybe even a little proud, as if he understood why this was so important to Loras. "Fine. But I'm holding on to you whether you like it or not. And you're still going to see a doctor, so don't think you can try and get out of it."

Loras smiled as they headed to the sidelines. "You've been worrying about me."

"And now you know why I don't like rugby," Renly said, grumbling a little. But he refused to leave Loras' side even after he'd settled him on a bench to wait for the ambulance, and when one of his teammates jogged over with an ice pack Renly insisted on holding it to Loras' head himself. He took the opportunity to study Loras' face. "At least you're still pretty. I don't see a single bruise."

Loras closed his eyes. He didn't know what was worse, the lingering aches in his body or the persistent embarrassment. "You're never going to let that one go, are you?"

"Nah. You look so sweet when you blush. It's very endearing." 

The match started up again, and over the noise of the spectators Loras thought he heard the wailing of the ambulance, sounding small and far away. Renly must have heard it too, because he gave Loras' arm a reassuring squeeze.

"I really was worried about you," he said. "I thought- well, I don't know what I was thinking, really. I just-" He let the sentence trail off, and Loras was about to ask him to go on when Renly suddenly kissed him.

Loras' eyes popped open, but he hardly had any time to respond before Renly was abruptly pulling away, red-cheeked and with the ridiculous antlers all askew. One of them nearly poked Loras in the eye, and he batted it away irritably.

"Next time we try that you'd better not be wearing that awful thing," he said.

Renly yanked it off, causing a spray of glitter to settle on his nose. His hair was sticking up oddly on one side in a way that Loras absolutely didn't find adorable. Not even a little bit.

"Next time?" Renly sounded just as surprised as Loras felt, and looked more than a little terrified. "You mean-"

Luckily the ambulance arrived before Loras had to answer that. Renly might be clever and incredibly attuned to other people, but if he hadn't realised by now that Loras liked him rather a lot, then he was going to need a lot more convincing than Loras could manage on the sidelines of a rugby match. 

Even though Renly still looked somewhat dazed, he insisted on accompanying Loras to the hospital. He was still there hours later when the doctor finally sent Loras home, diagnosed with a concussion and instructed to take paracetamol and get plenty of rest. 

"You're not going to watch over me all night like a mother brooding over a feverish child, are you?" Loras asked once he was settled in his own bed for the night.

Renly looked up from dragging Loras' desk chair to his bedside and frowned. "I'm not leaving you all alone, if that's what you think." 

"Then get in here. There's plenty of room." Loras slid over to the wall and patted the space beside him. 

Renly pushed the chair the rest of the way to the bed and slumped in it, looking troubled. "I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Why not? You need to sleep, too."

"What if I elbow you in the head during the night?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Come on, get in." 

Renly frowned. "It wouldn't be proper." 

"Proper!" Loras laughed. "What am I, a maiden trapped in a tower?"

"Shut up." 

Loras couldn't be certain in the dim light of his lamp, but it looked like Renly was blushing again. "It's very sweet that you're trying to protect my virtue but there isn't any need."

"Because you don't have any, you mean?" 

"Ha ha," Loras said, giving him his best glare. "Look, if you're afraid I'll grope you in the night, you can relax. I'm too tired for that right now so you'll have to wait until tomorrow. If you're lucky. Though I think we need to try kissing again first. You rushed things a bit today, it was very rude of you."

Renly was _definitely_ blushing now. "About that..."

"You're not going to apologise for it, are you? Because you don't have to, really. Unless you want to apologise for waiting so long to do it in the first place."

"But I took advantage of you," Renly said, looking wretched. "You were injured and in pain. I shouldn't have done that."

"Oh god, would you please stop trying to be chivalrous and get in my bed already?"

"Do you want the ice pack again?" Renly said, looking desperate to change the subject. "More paracetamol?"

"No! You. In bed. _Now_."

"Another blanket? Some water?"

If it wasn't for the concussion, Loras would have beaten his own head against the wall in frustration. "Fine. If you want to treat me like a child then I'll behave like one. I'd like a blanket fort, please."

Renly stared at him as if he'd grown another head. "What? Right now?"

"Right now."

"You must be joking."

"It would make me feel better." Loras folded his arms and watched him with narrowed eyes until Renly began stacking the pillows, glowering all the while.

The end result wasn't terribly impressive, as blanket forts went, but Renly did his best with only one chair and a few blankets and pillows to go around. It was actually quite cosy, Loras thought as he watched Renly attempting to arrange the last blanket in an artistic fashion. 

" _Now_ will you come here?" he said at last, because if he didn't interrupt him he knew that Renly would spend half the night rearranging their little fort and neither of them would get any rest.

"I suppose," Renly said, clearly trying his best to look annoyed but spoiling it with a smile that he couldn't seem to suppress. "Especially since I don't even have the chair to sit in anymore. That was all part of your evil plan, wasn't it?"

"Maybe," Loras admitted. "I also just really, really wanted a fort."

"It must have been all that talk of maidens and towers," Renly said as he kicked off his shoes and climbed in beside him.

"Something like that. By the way," Loras said as Renly fussed with the sheets. "Feel free to take advantage whenever you want. It's allowed. Actually, it's encouraged."

Renly stilled. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. I just thought I'd mention it before you have another attack of chivalry," Loras said, rolling onto his side to face Renly. "I also thought I'd tell you that I won't break, so it's perfectly all right if you decided that you wanted to kiss me right now."

"You're terribly bossy," Renly said, laughing, but he kissed Loras anyway. The angle was a bit strange, and they were both a little shy and fumbling at first, but then Loras felt Renly's fingers curving gently around his jaw, shifting him just so, and everything slotted perfectly into place. It made something bright and happy bloom in Loras' chest, a whole knot of warmth urged on by the scratch of Renly's stubble and the soft press of his lips, and it might have gone on forever if Renly hadn't finally pulled away and said (somewhat breathlessly) that Loras needed his rest.

"Now who's the bossy one?" Loras said, grinning, which only made Renly laugh and pull him into another kiss. By the time _that_ kiss ended, Loras' eyes really were getting heavy and he didn't complain again. After all, they had all day tomorrow to pick up where they'd left off. 

The thought made Loras smile and burrow closer, and beside him Renly was doing the same until they were both curled against each other in a tangle of arms and legs with the blanket fort all around them, keeping them warm.


End file.
